(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: UK | View All Season UK Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: January 30, 2009
The Dovecote Bistro Address: 38, Red Lion Yard, Okehampton EX20 1AW, United Kingdom
Episode Recap
The Dovecote Bistro, later renamed Martin’s Bistro, was an Okehampton, England restaurant featured on Ramsay’s Great British Nightmare, a one-off two-hour special that was broadcast in 2009 as part of The Great British Food Fight on Channel 4.
Owner Mick Martin opened The Dovecote Bistro six years ago with his wife Mo and daughter Michelle.
Located in Okehampton, England, this restaurant is now £80,000 in debt.
To make matters worse, Mick Martin racked up this debt on credit cards that he didn’t tell his wife about, so there’s definitely some stress going on.
Mo, Mick’s wife, only just recently found out about the restaurant’s financial issues.
The restaurant’s exterior looks good, and Gordon sees that they advertise fresh food.
When he gets inside, though, Gordon doesn’t like the interior wallpaper.
The duck Gordon orders are presented poorly, and the lamb is not fresh.
In fact, the lamb has been vacuum-sealed and can last for one year without being refrigerated.
Gordon is shocked and will not eat the lamb. He says he has never refused food before. The lamb is full of preservatives.
Mick says he can’t possibly cook fresh every day; he wastes so much food since the restaurant is slow.
He tells Gordon how he had to sell his family home to run the restaurant.
Gordon stays for lunch service, and Mick is a mess in the kitchen.
Lunchtime is a disaster as Mick struggles to cook even though nothing is fresh. Mick refuses to communicate.
Any dish that leaves the kitchen is sent right back.
Mick walks out, and Mo has no choice but to shut down the kitchen.
Gordon makes Mick apologize to the customers that no food will be served.
Many of the customers were angry that they were being asked to leave unfed. Gordon is distraught and disappointed in Mick’s behavior.
The next day Gordon meets with the owners to discuss the financial situation of the dining establishment.
Mick tells Gordon he has a credit card hidden for a rainy day.
Gordon doesn’t want to change the menu; he just wants to add fresh ingredients.
He invites forty locals to the dinner service.
Gordon wants to see if Mick can run the kitchen with fresh food. Unfortunately, he can’t handle it.
Gordon is forced to step in as Mick can’t keep up with all of the orders coming in.
Mick gets upset and leaves again after arguing with everyone. Gordon puts Mick’s daughter Michelle into the kitchen to continue the service.
Gordon also makes Mick come clean to his wife about all of his financial issues and hidden credit cards.
Gordon surprises the Martin family with a name change.
The Dovecote Bistro is now Martin’s Bistro, in honor of the family name.
Gordon also painted over the wallpaper he didn’t like.
During the relaunch, Michelle is in the kitchen. T
he customers love the dishes, and Mick works the front of the house.
Mick still manages to have a meltdown, and Gordon leaves since Mick won’t listen to reason.
The Dovecote Bistro Update - What Happened Next?
Six weeks later, Gordon arranged for more training for Michelle. Mo is now in charge of the finances.
Mick wishes he could be working in the kitchen, but he still understands that he is better off in the front of the house.
While the restaurant did successfully continue on for a number of years, The Dovecote Bistro / Martin’s Bistro eventually closed in 2015 because the Martin family sold the restaurant.
The old Martin’s Bistro location is occupied by a new restaurant called Graylings.
Reviews seem average as the new restaurant has a four star rating on its TripAdvisor page.
You can learn more at the official Graylings website.
More Information
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Last updated: 2022-01-03 05:42
Mick is a parasite. He just sucks off making his family miserable.
Agreed, I’d go one step further and call Mick an absolute knob and P.O.S.
Michelle is/was the real star in this episode.
Mick can pull his bottom lip over his ugly head and swallow and his entire family would be better for it.
unforunatly mishelle nolonger a chef given up cooking to be a nail technician talk about wasting gordons time
“Wasting Gordon’s time”? That’s harsh! Being a chef was clearly not her career choice. At 19, she stepped up to support a failing business and did great. Not her fault the Dad did not have the same drive. Maybe she channelled that drive into something she had passion for.
She had her life in-front of her. No need wasting it supporting a business owner living in denial.
If anyone ever deserved to go down the tubes, it was Mick.
Mick just needs a sloppy caravan burger bar. He’s got as much class as a Milli Vanilli cover band. The ladies are lovely. I hope they got what they deserved.
If you’re interested, there’s a huge chunk of info missing from this.
When this originally aired in the UK, it was part of a one-off special. Both this and The Runaway Girl were edited as one l0ng 2 hour episode. Later, they were split into two separate episodes and both lost footage in the edit.
In the original airing. Gordon comes back to Martin’s Bistro over Christmas and finds that things are not as harmonious as when he left. Here’s the original airing with the two restaurants edited together and the missing footage. Just skip to 1 hour and 23 minutes to see Gordon come back at Christmas for a big argument between him and Mick…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=N-EwIgIZ1ws&si=C_IedU6m0NU-lGVx